November 30, 2012

Recently I was sent two original newspapers from Historic Newspapers UK. This company sells genuine originalnewspapers
dating back as far as the 1800’s.

These are sourced from the world’s
largest private archive of over 7 million editions from all over the
world. To date UK titles have been catalogued as far back as 1900 by
date and title, there are also lots of US and regional issues, as well
as many from the Victorian era. I admit that when the company first approached me and offered to send me two (free) original newspapers, I was a bit skeptical. First, why would I want them? And were they actually originals or were they copies?

Nevertheless I agreed and chose two specific dates and newspapers:

15 May 1912 (my father's birthday) from The Times or Daily Mirror

29 May 1913 (grandparents set sail for Canada from UK) from The Times or Daily Mirror The company informed me that there were very few original issues for 15 May 1912 due to it following the Titantic disaster. They offered another date or a quality reproduction of that May 15th issue. I opted for the reproduction since I wanted it to be the paper from the day my father was born.

When the box arrived at my door I was pleasantly surprised! The presentation box is lovely - a nice blue box with "A Day to Remember" printed on the lid.

Inside were the newspapers, carefully wrapped in tissue. Each newspaper came with a seal of authenticity including the information I submitted online to be printed on the seal. The certificate for my reproduction paper stated very clearly that it was not an original.

Quality Reproduction Newpaper 1912

This is the front page of the 1912 newspaper which the company reproduced for me. I'm quite happy with the quality.

I love being able to see the headlines on the day my father was born!

Original Newspaper 1913

This is the front page of the original newspaper I ordered for 1913 - the day my grandparents left England for Canada.

It is really interesting reading through it, and quite obviously an original. It has yellowed slightly and even has a slight "old" smell! I am quite impressed with these newspapers and think they would make wonderful gifts.

I'm planning to give mine to my sons at some point. I think they will really enjoy them.

Disclaimer: Historic Newspapers offered me two free original newspapers in exchange for a link to their site. I was not paid for this review nor was I told what to say. The opinions are entirely my own.

November 29, 2012

Online Newspaper Web Site Offers a High-Quality Collection of Digitized and Completely Searchable
U.S. Newspapers Dating Back Centuries

(PROVO, Utah) – November 29, 2012 –
Ancestry.com Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOM), the world’s largest online family
history resource, today announced the launch of Newspapers.com,
a powerful and affordable new web site designed to offer a historically
rich collection of more than 800 U.S. newspapers dating from the late
1700s into the early 2000s.

Comprising more than 25 million pages, Newspapers.com offers a trove of historical and present-day newspapers ranging from the
New York Times to treasured small town and local newspapers throughout the United States.

Interested users will find centuries of amazing
news articles
and photos now captured online when browsing hundreds of years
of breaking news headlines, searching for information about an ancestor
or reading how the media addressed moments in history like the day
Charles A. Lindbergh flew over the Atlantic, the opening of Disneyland
or news from the fronts during World War I and
World War II.

“We’re
extremely excited about the launch of Newspapers.com because it offers
historical value for people of all ages and areas of interest,” said
Brian Hansen, General Manager of Newspapers.com.
“Searching newspapers is like searching the Facebook footprint of the
past. Not only can you find information on births, marriages and deaths,
but you can also get a glimpse into what life was like during a
specific era.
We
hope our users have fun making their own discoveries in this great
newspaper collection that will continue to grow over time.”

The
search capabilities on Newspapers.com are specifically designed for
newspapers enabling users to easily search by keywords, location, time
period and newspaper name.
From the 1784
Newport Mercury newspaper to a 2009 edition of The Gettysburg Times, users may find old advertisements or job listings, laugh at comics, retrieve family history
clues or learn about famous events through the eyes and words of the time period.

The
user experience is also enhanced by an image viewer that serves up
crisp, high-quality images of the newspapers. Once discovered, newspaper
images can easily be clipped, saved and
shared via social outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and
Google+.

Within this growing
newspaper collection are a myriad photos and stories that provide unique perspective
on history. Examples include:

·Abraham Lincoln – Abraham Lincoln’s death is noted as “Our Great
Loss” in the April 16, 1865 edition of the New York Times

·Interesting People – The first baby picture of John Jacob Astor
VI, whose father perished on the Titanic, is posted among other photos including one of Andrew Carnegie in the 1914
New York Times section labeled “Interesting People Seen Through the Camera’s Eye”

·Price Changes – See how costs have changed over time, for example
the New York Times cost one cent back in 1852, a paper that today costs $2.50 for its weekday edition

·Marilyn Monroe – A
Parade article featuring an exclusive interview with Marilyn Monroe in 1952 talked about how the famous actress saw herself

·Man on the Moon – In 1969, the first U.S. astronaut on the moon
as highlighted in the Iowa Estherville Daily News

·St. Valentine’s Day Massacre – The day after the 1929 St. Valentine’s
Day massacre in Chicago, articles all across America followed the story including
The Daily Independent

Newspapers.com
provides an affordable glimpse into the past with a yearly subscription
rate of $79.95 for subscribers and $39.95 for Ancestry.com or Fold3
members. Newspapers.com also offers
a 7-day free trial

This last document in the collection is a Tax Deed dated 29 November 1938.

It states that Charles W. Walker, village of Newburgh, Warden, and Thomas J. Cook of Napanee, Treasurer, grant to Frederick Hart 100 acres in the Township of Denbigh, Counties of Lennox and Addington.

It is specified as Lot 2 West Range Denbigh.

More documents will follow as I scan them and extract their details. To
view all documents as they are published on Olive Tree Genealogy blog,
click on Lennox-Addington Collection in the tags at the end of this
post.

If
you are a descendant and would like to see these records, they are now with Lennox and Addington County Museum and Archives,
97 Thomas Street East,
Napanee, Ontario
K7R 4B9

November 27, 2012

Great news - another happy ending to a search for a WW1 soldier's descendants.

The original story of a watch found by a young boy over 30 years ago is here Chad found this watch in Michigan and wrote to Olive Tree Genealogy to ask for help finding the soldier R H Smedley's descendants so he could return the watch to the family.

With the wonderful sleuthing skills of several of my readers, the Smedley family was found. R. H. and his son are deceased but his daughter-in-law Ann and two grandsons, Ron and Jim were found.

We made contact with the family and Chad arranged to meet them personally to return the watch. The family very kindly agreed to take photographs for me to share with my readers.

The photo on the right shows Ann holding the watch which was stolen so many years ago and then found by Chad. Her son Ron (R. H. Smedley's grandson) is in the photo along with Chad who found the watch.

Here is Chad's email about the reunion of the Smedley watch with Ronald Smedley's daughter-in-law and grandsons.

...... We met today and I passed the watch back to Ann after it had been
stolen from their home some 30 yrs old. It winds up that I went to the
same high school as her sons so we lived about 1.5 miles apart. Ann was
gracious enough to share with me some information about RH Smedleys
service, showed me a couple of pictures and showed me some of his
service medals. We had a very good visit and I am just very glad that it
is back with Ann and her family. Thank you very very much for your help
on this and also please thank the other kind ladies that also helped.
This reunion would not have been possible without everyone's hard work.
Thank you again.

This photo shows Ann and her son Jim (R. H. Smedley's grandson) with Chad and the WW1 watch.

November 26, 2012

Cyber Monday Sale starts Monday,
November 26, 2012. Free Shipping on all orders of $100 or more in the USA and Canada! (Applies to standard ground shipping only.)

IMPORTANT: Use this link to Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner and look for the Cyber Monday buttons on the bottom left of the page

Save $15 on the Flip-Pal mobile scanner!
You will need to place the Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner in your shopping cart and then use the promotion code Cyber12 in order to receive the $15 off discount.
(Regular Price: $149.99, Sale Price: $134.99)

November 24, 2012

This is a preview of the upcoming Cyber Monday Sale that starts Monday,
November 26, 2012. The deals shown below will not be available until
then! Free Shipping on all orders of $100 or more in the USA and Canada! (Applies to standard ground shipping only.)

IMPORTANT: Use this link to Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner and look for the Cyber Monday buttons on the bottom left of the page

Save $15 on the Flip-Pal mobile scanner!
You will need to place the Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner in your shopping cart and then use the promotion code Cyber12 in order to receive the $15 off discount.
(Regular Price: $149.99, Sale Price: $134.99)

November 22, 2012

Need
the perfect gift for someone who has everything? Or have a "hard to
shop for" person on your list? Give a gift they'll always treasure-an
opportunity to connect with their family!

RootsTech, a Family History and Technology Conference hosted by FamilySearch, provides a unique opportunity for anyone to find, organize, preserve, and share their family's connections and history. And with passes starting at only $19, it's a great gift to give everyone on your list!

With
world-class content from speakers all over the country, a large and
exciting exhibitor hall, and great keynote speakers, RootsTech is for
young and old alike, regardless of expertise.

New in 2013! A full track of over 30 Getting Started
classes and labs will help those new to family history learn things
like where to start, how to build your family tree, and how to use
technology to explore your connections.Learn More

Registration Options

Full 3-Day PassAccess to over 250 classes and everything RootsTech has to offer.

$219 $149 (Early bird discount)

Full One-Day Only PassFull admission for just one day.

$89

Student 3-Day PassStudent ID required.

$39

NEW! Getting Started 3-Day PassBeginner track with access to over 30 classes.

$49 $39 (Early bird discount)

Getting Started One-Day Only PassA selection of fundamental classes to help you get started.

$19

Developer Day Pass (March 22)A full day technology program just for developers.

November 21, 2012

This is a preview of the upcoming Black Friday Sale that starts Friday,
November 23, 2012. The deals shown below will not be available until
then! Free Shipping on all orders of $100 or more in the USA and Canada! (Applies to standard ground shipping only.)

IMPORTANT: Use this link to Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner and look for the Black Friday buttons on the bottom left of the page on Friday Nov. 23rd.

November 20, 2012

This is the 4th photo in our collection of rescued photographs of the
Hooper and Squires families of St. Mary's Ontario Canada. To view all
the photos in this collection as they are published here on Olive Tree
Genealogy blog, click on Hooper-Squires Photo Archives link.

This Cabinet Card photo is faded but still adorable. Eight young children in their Sunday best in St. Mary's Perth County Ontario.

The photography studio, J. Leary and Co., was in operation in St. Marys
between 1891 and 1896. This helps date this photograph and aids in identifying the family.

I believe these are the following children of George Squires and Louisa Augusta Gunning:

November 19, 2012

Recently I used the Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner Sketch Kit from Flip-Pal for the first time. I loved it! I've wanted this for some time now and am really happy I finally got it. If you're scratching your head and wondering what the heck Sketch Kit is, here's the deal...

Sketch Kit is a piece of plastic that fits on your Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner bed and allows you to notate photos and documents you are scanning. The Kit consists of the plastic insert and three dry erase markers.

All you do is peel off the paper from both sides of the plastic sheet. That's the hardest part of using Sketch Kit! Once you have it peeled off, you are set to scan.

I took a photo of my grandparents, my mother and aunt taken circa 1920. First I scanned the photo. I should also mention that I did all this from my lap while sitting on my couch!

Ignore the printed material you can see through the glass of the Flip-Pal mobile scanner - that's just a thin book I used to stabilize the scanner while I was using it.

Next I verified with my aunt that I knew who each child was, and I wrote the information on the plastic sheet with the dry erase marker.

Next step was to place the photo on the Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner bed again, and then put the plastic notated sheet on top (with the writing facing down the same way as the photo).

After scanning the photo with the notated plastic sheet, I then had two scans - the photo with no information and the photo with the names and date. What a great thing to have handy when I'm out at a museum or archive or library and I want to notate a document with the source.

This photo shows the final scan. See the bit of the plastic sheet sticking out from the scanner bed? And the final two scans are shown below.

November 17, 2012

Another happy ending! I am very pleased to let readers know that we have found the daughter-in-law and two grandsons of Ronald H. Smedley.

Ronald's watch which was given to him by the citizens of his home town for his service in WW1 was found by Chad. Chad contacted Olive Tree Genealogy for help finding Ronald's descendants so he could return the watch. The original post for Case #14 "WW1 Soldier's Pocket Watch Found in Michigan!" is here.

Ronald's grandsons and their mom have all posted comments on the original post with the story of the watch (see below).

It's great to hear from Ronald Smedley's family (Ann, Ronald and
James) but please contact me directly. I will put you in touch with
Chad, the finder of the watch.

olivetreegenealogy AT gmail DOT com

Replace AT and DOT with the appropriate symbols.

Here's what Ronald's family had to say:

james h smedley said...

hi the watch in the photo looks like the one stolden from my
parents house 30 some your ago . his name was ronald herbert smedley ,
my name is james herbert and my brother name is ronald j . my father was
herbert james , my mother sent the link to the sight ( ann smedley )she
contacted someone at the sight . she has all the imformation on him, if
that is the watch that was taken , we thought we'd never see it again .
it would really nice to know who found it and held on to it so long and
was nice enough to turn it in to you
thanks
james h smedley

Ann Smedley said...

Ronald Herbert Smedley was my father in law,his son my husband
Herbert Jamed Smedley passed away 3 yrs ago.This wathch was taken from
our house in Troy 30 yrs ago.We have to sons James Herbert and Ronald
both with here Grandfathers names.Would to have this watch back for our
sons.Would like to thank Chad for keeping it safe for all these
yrs.Would like to know how to get the watch back.Thanks so much never
thought I would see the watch again.Ann Smedley

Ronald J Smedley said...

Hello both my brother (Jim H Smedley) and my mom( Ann Smedley)
have already left a comment so basically I wanted to reconfirm what they
both said. This watch was taken from our home while we were on vacation
and thought that it was lost forever. i fondly remember looking at it
in its case when i was young. unfortunately my grandfather passed away
before i was born so i have no personal memories of him other than
pictures and few items my parents had of his( the watch being one of
them). it is amazing that after all these years it has resurfaced! i
just wish that my father was still with us to enjoy the discovery of his
father's long lost watch. i want to put out a huge thank you to the
person that found it and wanted to find the proper owner and would love
to meet them to give them a personal thanks.
Ron Smedley

November 16, 2012

Yesterday I received an email from my friend Mark at MyHeritage.com. Here's part of his email:

Hi Lorine

Happy Birthday!

For your Birthday I'm giving you a free MyHeritage yearlong subscription to give away however or whenever you like.

Mark added that he couldn't give a subscription to me because I already have one! So he thought it would be fun for me to give one away.

So that's what I'm doing. My husband wanted me to reveal my age (xx) and tell everyone that the xx person to email me would get the subscription. Well that's not happening! I'm not about to announce my age in public. So, next best thing...

Since my website Olive Tree Genealogy is 17 years old this winter (gulp!!) and my Olive Tree Genealogy blog is 10 years old this coming February, I'm adding their years together. That means that....

The 27th person to email me at otg.giveaway@gmail.com gets the membership! Please put MYHERITAGE SUBSCRIPTION in the subject of your email

****** UPDATE******

We have a winner! Judy Burdick was the 27th person to email me atotg.giveaway@gmail.com

Congrats Judy and thank you to Mark and MyHeritage!

***************************

I'll announce the winner here as soon as I hear from the 27th person. Don't forget to give me your full name and email in your note. No need to tell me why you want the membership, just email me.

Did you know that you can create your own covers for your iPhone or iPad? I've been working on a genealogy design that features either a family tree (my own of course!) or a collage of ancestor photos so that I can give my kids a custom cover for Christmas.

At Zazzle you can create a custom cover or buy one of their ready-made designs. Here's a few examples:

November 15, 2012

Olive Tree Genealogy is taking a day off. Yes!! Today's my birthday and my husband has planned what he calls "Reenie's Day of Fun"

I'm going to be enjoying four of my favourite activities - dining out, cooking, antiquing and technology. I won't actually be cooking today, but I will be poking around one of my fav kitchen stores looking for new goodies to buy.

First - breakfast out at a local restaurant. Then to the city to the kitchen store.

Then it's off for lunch at a restaurant I love but rarely get to. I can smell those Red Lobster biscuits already!

One of my Antique Silver Desk Bells

Lucky me I then get to go to an antique store where hubs has told me to choose one of the antique silver desk bells I've been drooling over. I collect them and have been longing to buy another to add to the collection.

Then a technology store I love to check out the new mini iPad and other stuff.

Wow - Reenie's Day of Fun starts now! I'll be back tomorrow with genealogy news.

It is signed Archie Denison but the parties involved are George A. Hartman and his wife Edith Victoria to Henry Forguson Card, Agent.

A payment of $1.00 is given for a half interest in Lots 1 and 2 on the North side of Dundas St.

The document states that the land is described in detail in a deed from Mary Adney Foster to George Albert Hartman and Henry Forguson Card dated 8 March 1920.

More documents will follow as I scan them and extract their details. To
view all documents as they are published on Olive Tree Genealogy blog,
click on Lennox-Addington Collection in the tags at the end of this
post.

If
you are a descendant and would like to see these records, they are now with Lennox and Addington County Museum and Archives,
97 Thomas Street East,
Napanee, Ontario
K7R 4B9

November 13, 2012

The following announcement was sent to Olive Tree Genealogy from Family Tree DNA concerning their current sale on DNA kits.

The list of kits with sale prices is below

New
Kits

Current
Price

SALE PRICE

Y-DNA 37

$169

$119

Y-DNA 67

$268

$199

mtDNAPlus

$159

$139

mtFullSequence (FMS)

$299

$199

SuperDNA (Y-DNA 67 and
mtFullSequence)

$548

$398

Family Finder

$289

$199

Family Finder +
mtDNAPlus

$438

$318

Family Finder +
mtFullSequence

$559

$398

Family Finder + Y-DNA
37

$438

$318

Comprehensive (FF + FMS +
Y-67)

$837

$597

Upgrades

CurrentPrice

SALE PRICE

Y-Refine 12-25 Marker

$59

$35

Y-Refine 12-37 Marker

$109

$69

Y-Refine 12-67 Marker

$199

$148

Y-Refine 25-37 Marker

$59

$35

Y-Refine 25-67 Marker

$159

$114

Y-Refine 37-67 Marker

$109

$79

Y-Refine 37-111 Marker

$220

$188

Y-Refine 67-111 Marker

$129

$109

mtHVR1toMega

$269

$179

mtHVR2toMega

$239

$179

mtFullSequence Add-on

$289

$199

To order this special offer, log in to Family Tree DNA to your
personal page and click on the Order An Upgrade
button in the upper right corner. ALL ORDERS MUST BE
PLACED AND PAID FOR BY MONDAY, DECEMBER
31, 2012 11:59:00 PM CST TO RECEIVE THE
SALE PRICES.

The lease is for a dwelling house, hen house and pig pen, also stabling of one horse and a small spot for a garden.

Lorine's Research:

Matilda McKittrick was the wife of James McKittrick. He was the son of Rebecca. Rebecca's first husband was William Parks. See his 1849 will.

More documents will follow as I scan them and extract their details. To
view all documents as they are published on Olive Tree Genealogy blog,
click on Lennox-Addington Collection in the tags at the end of this
post.

If
you are a descendant and would like to see these records, they are now with Lennox and Addington County Museum and Archives,
97 Thomas Street East,
Napanee, Ontario
K7R 4B9

New!

Death Finds a Way: A Janie Riley Mystery by Lorine McGinnis SchulzeJanie Riley is an avid genealogist with a habit of stumbling on to dead bodies. She and her husband head to Salt Lake City Utah to research Janie's elusive 4th great-grandmother. But her search into the past leads her to a dark secret. Can she solve the mysteries of the past and the present before disaster strikes?

I'm an incurable collector of
antiques, an avid genealogist and a messy but creative cook! I blog, i write history and genealogy books. My main genealogy website is Olive Tree Genealogy http://olivetreegenealogy.com/

Lorine is the author of many published genealogical and historical
articles and books available at
http://LorineSchulze.com